Day 7 and HOME!

(Continuing on with pictures from our vacation after taking a break from posts this week!)

Day 7 (Thursday)

Today we had to pack up and head back to Texas. The man at the cabin recommended a scenic drive for us before we left so we went there and to a visitors center. We saw a pretty waterfall  and took some pictures. I remembered last night how we took a family picture in our Colorado shirts when we went there on vacation, and I wanted to do the same in our new Tennessee shirts.

We drove until we got to the Financial Peace Plaza.

When we got there Dave Ramsey was recording a show. We looked at the store and watched the show through the window. A lady came up and asked us if we'd just arrived. We told her we were passing through on our way home from vacation. She told us the plan of the show for the next 30 minutes and said at the break we could talk to Dave. We watched a couple scream "We're debt free" and then he came out. Apparently he'd already talked to the others. He talked with the couple and then shook our hands and took a picture with us. Then he gave us his autograph. I got him to sign the coupon book I use for our cash following his cash envelope system. It was very fun and exciting to meet him. We weren't really expecting that!

 

Then we drove.  And drove some more to stay the night in Little Rock.

Oh and on the way before we got to Memphis, TN we were stopped in the left lane as the right lane was closed ahead. A truck pulled over right in front of us to cut into traffic on the left lane before traffic started moving. We thought he was going to run into us with the back of his trailer. Thankfully he did not.

Day 8 (Friday)We did not have a restful night of sleep which was disappointing.  We'd used our points for a "free night" so I guess that is a good thing that we weren't paying for it! ha!  We were at a La Quinta and heard loud banging that woke us up at about 3:45 and again after 4:00.  It went on for some time and was shaking the pictures on the walls in our room.  We called the front desk and they couldn't get an answer in that room or do anything about it.  It eventually stopped.  It was hard to rest after that though. 

We got up and got Krispy Kreme before heading on our way.  We were so glad to see the Texas state line!  We got out at the Texas welcome center and took pictures with the Texas shape before driving on towards home.

We got home and unloaded so I could start on the laundry on Saturday. 

I'm so thankful for our vacation and the memories we made.


Have a day of blessings!

Days 5 and 6

Day 5 (Tuesday)
For our days here I didn't really plan activities. We knew of a few places we wanted to visit so we just went exploring.  My husband fixed us breakfast burritos to have before we headed out.

Tuesday morning we went to Cade's Cove. We spent several hours driving and looking around. On one stop it started sprinkling. We walked under the trees out to a cabin. We got a little bit wet but not soaked.

The drive was beautiful, and we enjoyed driving with the windows down. We saw several deer as we drove. Also a turkey crossed the road right in front of us. We heard some other people who were stopped say they saw a bear but by the time we got there we could only see it moving around in the distance.

 

 

Here are some other pictures we took there.

 

 

 

When we left we got some pizza. Then we drove over to Gatlinburg. We could not believe how busy it was as we passed through Pigeon Forge. We were not expecting it to be like it was!  Then when we got to Gatlinburg we were surprised there too at the people and how busy it was. We found Cooter's which is a Dukes of Hazzard museum. They also had go karts and putt putt so we did that.

We headed back to the cabin and were disappointed the ice cream shop did not have ice cream as they were defrosting their freezers. So we fixed our hot dogs and had that for supper. We felt like we are still on Texas time.

Day 6 (Wednesday)
Today we went to Seiverville. We went to a ham radio store for the boys (they are both licensed ham radio operators).  We also stopped at The Apple Barn. It was nice to walk through here. We enjoyed some delicious ice cream...wow was it yummy!  We got turtle caramel fudge, almond joy, and chocolate. We picked up fried apple pie to go too.

 

As we drove back we stopped at various souvenir shops and The Christmas Place.  You can't believe all the Christmas decorations here!  I did have a moment where I almost cried too.  The door we entered was the room where you could get your ornament personalized.  On the walls it had big words above each section to describe that set of ornaments, like sports, careers, wedding, etc.  Well one wall said "Family of...." and then each number was a section of ornaments.  It made me feel teary when I saw "Family of 4," thinking of the baby that we lost last year. 

We also went to the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum.  I'd looked for a set of S&P shakers for my Mom that said Tennessee or Smoky Mountains on them and couldn't find any.  We went to this museum.  I thought my mom had a lot of shakers!  This display had 20,000.  Here is a picture of one of the cases. 

We ate supper at this delicious BBQ place called Bennett's BBQ. I had a BBQ sandwich, and the boys both got the all you can eat salad bar. The service was great and fast, and the food was wonderful. This is a place we would like to eat at again.

When we got back to Townsend we stopped at this little bridge we had seen.  It was a swinging bridge and we all walked across it. 

Then we headed back to the cabin. It started raining. We packed up some stuff and spent more time in the hot tub.

to be continued.....

Have a day of blessings!

 

Our cabin

I found this cabin for our stay in Townsend, TN.  We could not believe how quiet it was!  It was so secluded and this was the view of the mountains in front of the cabin.

Here are some cabin pictures.  The front porch had rocking chairs and a swing. 

This is inside, the living room and kitchen.  It also had two bedrooms and a bathroom plus the back porch had a hot tub. 

to be continued...

Have a day of blessings!

In Tennesse (Days 3 and 4)

Day 3 (Sunday)
With the time change and our tiredness from travel, we got up too late for the hotel breakfast. So we had brunch at Cracker Barrel (which we all enjoyed very much!).

Then we went and bought a new camera. I didn't want to only have the iPhone pictures from this trip and the other camera didn't improve any.  It kept telling me "lens error." So we let the new camera battery charge a little and went to some shops downtown.

We also shared these downtown at Cupcake Kitchen.  I have always wanted to go to a cupcake shop.  One time on our anniversary trip we looked one up to visit and then got there and it was no longer in business!  We got cookies n cream and the other was plain chocolate.  They were yummy.

Then we went back to the room to get the camera and went on the Tennessee Aquarium River Gorge Explorer. It was a nice ride and such pretty scenery. The boat itself was closed on the lower deck where we sat for part of the ride and watched from the windows. Then when it slowed down we got to go to the upper deck.

Caleb enjoyed it and especially liked when the boat would slow down quickly while it was going fast and make a big splash.  He wanted to take a picture of this. 

We ate supper and then drove around Racoon Mountain. It was pretty as the sun was setting   We opened the windows and enjoyed the peaceful drive.  We loved seeing the lightning bugs everywhere also! 

Day 4 (Monday)
We visited Ruby Falls this morning. Once we went down into the cavern I had to not think about where I was at so I wouldn't get to feeling scared! In the beginning room we watched a short video clip about Ruby Falls. The guide had moved the children to the front so they could see. Then as we started on our tour, Caleb stayed at the front. I didn't think it mattered at first but most of the whole tour was single file through the cavern which you can see in this picture.  It made me nervous to be separated from him. He was fine though and didn't think it was a big deal.

At the end we got to the falls, and it was just beautiful. I loved the sound of the falling water. It was hard to capture the falls with a camera.

At the end we went up to the lookout to see the city. They had a nice playground and a pretty little waterfall up there too.

We headed on our way out of Chattanooga. My husband found us a place to eat in Cleveland, TN. He just searched on his GPS to find it.  It's called Farm House Restaurant. It was so good, I wish we could go back. He had a BBQ sandwich that was delicious.

Then I got to meet my longtime blogging friend Marsha!  It was wonderful to be able to meet her in person.  She has been such a blessing to my life through her writing and encouragement through Grace Café.  I'm so glad we could visit for a little while. 

We drove on to Townsend and found our cabin. We could not believe how remote it was. We were all just in awe of the beauty of the mountains. We went back into town to get supper and buy some groceries.

The cabin is so nice. We got settled and got in the hot tub before bed.

Have a day of blessings!

Beginning our vacation (Days 1 and 2)



After Caleb finished swim lessons Friday we left on our journey. We ate lunch first actually before leaving town. We stopped for an afternoon snack of ice cream at Braums and continued on our way. As the scenery around us changed as we drove into East Texas, I thought of my Meemaw and our trips to visit her throughout my childhood. We ate at Baudacious BBQ in Kilgore. It was delicious, and I recommend it if you are in the area. We also shred a fried peach pie that was very tasty.

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We arrived at the Louisiana state line about 8:15 p.m. We stopped at the visitors' center and took some pictures. 

 

We stayed the night at a Holiday Inn Express. The bed was soft, and we were all so ready for sleep! 

 

Travel day 2

The boys got up about 8. I slept well mostly but kept looking to check the time. We left town and headed to West Monroe. Caleb and I were playing battleship on paper. (This is a fun idea I found through Pinterst.  Here is the link  to print your own!)

 

He wasn't paying attention to where we were. Then we pulled up at Duck Commander.

 

He didn't realize it until we were in the parking lot, and we told him. We took pictures outside and went into the store. I got some balloons for his birthday party and t-shirts for us too.

 

We continued on our way, stopping for lunch in Mississippi after we'd visited the welcome center.

We took some pictures of the bridges and Mississippi River too.

 

 

When I tried to take Caleb's picture by the state sign, I realized my camera was not seeming to focus. I'm not sure the cause, but vacation is not a good time to have a camera problem. I'm glad for the picture capabilities of the phone and iPad!  

We stopped at the Alabama welcome center also. 

 

It rained on us for a while today. Part of the time it poured very hard and was hard to see.  Caleb read his books and books I'd downloaded from the library to his tablet. We watched for license plates from other states. Part of the time he watched the scenery.  He also looked at the maps and brochures he's picked up.

 

We had more rain after dark and finally made it to Tennessee! This picture was snapped as we crossed the state line.  

We arrived in Chattaanooga after 10.  

to be continued.......


Have a day of blessings!